LL Bean ends lifetime return policy after abuse by customers

Loren Pratt |Saturday, February 10, 2018

Dennis Green Business Insider

The company, which began reviewing its policy last year, has now updated its site to read: "If you are not 100 percent satisfied with one of our products, you may return it within one year of purchase for a refund". Today, that policy died.

Gorman said the company will work with customers to reach a fair solution beyond the one year limit. "Other seek refunds for products that have been purchased through third parties, such as yard sales".

The guarantee has always been a selling point for Bean products. "The financial impact is remarkable", the spokesperson says.

In a letter from Executive Chairman Shawn O. Gorman posted to Facebook, he cited a problem with some customers who have exploited the policy as the reason for the shift in their "100% satisfaction guarantee".

L.L. Bean today announced it will no longer offer lifetime returns or exchanges on products.

After a year, the company said it will consider any items for return that are defective due to materials or craftsmanship, NPR said.

"I completely understand this decision, but it still makes me a little sad", comments Cathy.

From now on, products only can be returned if they were bought within 12 months or have a manufacturing defect. The previous lifetime guarantee, which enabled customers to return products years - or even decades - after purchase, has always been a selling point for the company. People abusing the system. Per their original return policy, REI would replace returned items with either a new product or a gift card, entirely at the company's own cost. It was outrageously generous, and basically unparalleled among retailers-and now it's gone. The now-defunct lifetime return policy had been in place for 106 years.

This update adds clarity to our policy and will only affect a small percentage of returns. Take Patagonia: the California-based apparel maker has an Ironclad Guarantee, which ensures that customers unsatisfied with the product they've bought can bring it back for "repair, replacement, or refund". I kept those boots for years, and when the soles on them finally wore down, I dutifully boxed them up, filled out the return form and waited for the replacement pair to arrive a few weeks later. But as This American Life reported in a 2016 segment, employees were specifically instructed to not contest these explanations, or press customers at all; they're told to just accept even clearly worn and loved products customers claim "didn't live up to expectations of quality", always with a smile.

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